[Macha]

> Crypto was being adopted by consumers though, there was a boom at one point that it was incredibly common to see bitcoin ATM's or signs that stores would accept bitcoin. I even remember a bitcoin credit card or something that lets you use your bitcoin anywhere. That stuff wouldn't have been done if it wasn't being used.

The trail of broken crypto startups serve as counter evidence. There were plenty of merchants initially dragged in by the appeal of cutting out at least Visa/Mastercard's cut, and in many cases governments too.

And then the consumer adoption wasn't there, and the prices for merchants were also too high, so many ripped them out again.

[nerdjon]

The trail doesn’t exactly counter it if there was a lot of consumer use and then it died.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seemed like there were a lot of people talking about it and in it (same with NFT) and then it plummeted.

That’s why I kinda felt like AI is the same. The bubble is going to pop as we hit limitations on what this can actually do.

But I will also admit that some of this could be living within a tech bubble.

[in_cahoots]

Talking and using aren’t the same thing. Did you ever see people using one of the crypto ATMs or buying anything with a crypto credit card? Especially outside of the Bay Area? If not then it’s likely a marketing expense / stunt, just the same as the commercials starring Tom Brady or Larry David. Create the perception that crypto is mainstream, and people will want to jump onboard just because of FOMO.

[antifa]

> it seemed like there were a lot of people talking about it and in it (same with NFT) and then it plummeted.

What you saw was probably some light astroturfing, backed by wave after wave of non-tech celebrity sponsors, and a pump-n-dump shill bidding scheme.